June 12, 2025
by Michael M. Posey
In Coach Wooden and Me, basketball great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar shares how he and his mentor navigated life’s triumphs and struggles over five decades. John Wooden provided Abdul-Jabbar with lessons that transcended basketball, exemplifying the power of mentorship. This powerful act of experts mentoring protégés distributes wisdom, experience, and a passion for excellence across generations.
Sports fans judge coaches by the number of wins and losses their team accumulates. However, many overlook the impact of a coach’s ability to mentor others, sometimes depicted in a coaching tree, a lineage of coaches who have been mentored by the same person. Coaching trees illustrate “coaching families,” head coaches who develop assistant coaches who, in turn, become head coaches themselves.
On the court, in combat, or in the classroom, a coaching tree can transform a profession, as seasoned experts share their best insights with those they identify as future talent. A mentor’s legacy can ripple outward, nurturing future leaders with the right skills and values who then influence more individuals, eventually reshaping entire organizations. Basketball coach Larry Brown, military strategist George C. Marshall, and U.S. Army War College professors Charles “Chuck” Allen and Al Lord exemplify the art of cultivating a coaching tree.
Brown: Growing Leaders One Coach at a Time
Like Wooden, Larry Brown once coached at UCLA. Unlike Wooden, Brown coached both collegiate and professional basketball, leading multiple teams over his career. The only coach to win an NCAA championship and an NBA title, Brown repeatedly rebuilt teams and instilled discipline into his players. Most notably, Brown mentored assistants who later became coaching trailblazers.
Famed coaches, such as Gregg Popovich and Alvin Gentry, grew under his coaching tree. Popovich, in turn, built one of basketball’s largest trees, producing six future NBA coaches. Popovich and his protégés absorbed Brown’s emphasis on fundamentals, accountability, and adaptability.
Brown’s example reminds us that leadership constitutes more than just winning games. It involves teaching and reinforcing core values, synchronizing individual efforts for a collective purpose. Brown’s legacy demonstrates how a mentor’s influence extends far beyond that of a single team or season.
The Other Marshall Plan: Developing Army Talent
Military circles immortalize George C. Marshall, a soldier and statesman who served our nation at the highest levels distinguished by both his leadership and mentorship. Marshall instilled in his protégés integrity, strategic foresight, and the courage to speak truth to power.
His storied career—from serving as the Army Chief of Staff to later occupying roles as Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense—showcased his character and ethical decision-making. Marshall raised a generation of military leaders who would steer the course of history during and after World War II. Marshall instinctively identified talent and lifted Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, and Walter Bedell Smith into principled leaders.
Marshall’s approach illustrated that an organization’s character thrives through the virtue of its members. Marshall built his mentorship style on open communication and an unwavering commitment to integrity, providing a blueprint for raising the next generation of experts in any field. Marshall showed that leaders who invest in others ultimately build legacies that endure.
Allen and Al: Creating Warrior-Scholars
The power of mentorship extends beyond sports arenas and the battlefield. At the U.S. Army War College, Professors Chuck Allen and Al Lord have spent decades shaping future military and civilian leaders through education.
Professor Allen inspires his students to think critically about ethical decision-making, cultural awareness, and the complexities of modern military operations. A pillar of the Carlisle community, he demonstrates that leadership goes beyond theory and analysis; leaders must apply lessons to real-world challenges. I am inspired by his example. Like him, I wish to write about meaningful topics to better our profession.
Similarly, Professor Al Lord cultivates academic excellence. Lord served as the director of the Joint Warfighting Advanced Studies Program, where he mentored me. In this capacity, he spearheaded much of the Army War College’s educational wargaming, designing and executing experiential learning for the next generation of strategic leaders.
Your Legacy: Changed Lives
Larry Brown nurtured coaching prodigies who transformed basketball. George C. Marshall mentored some of the Army’s most significant generals in our nation’s history. Though you may not find them in history books, Professors Allen and Lord mentored hundreds of U.S. Army War College students and faculty. These warrior-scholars bridged the gap between the theoretical and practical aspects of leadership, and now, those they taught and mentored are better equipped. Though they will retire soon, I will carry their wisdom forward at the War College and beyond. How could I not? They trusted me with their legacy, and I am a branch on their coaching trees, one of their many protégés.
Growing coaching trees—in sports, the military, or academics—requires generosity and commitment to sharing wisdom. By encouraging and developing others, we become mentors to future mentors. We can steward our professions, ensuring knowledge, values, and excellence flourish for future generations. So, share your expertise and values, allowing the best in you to ripple out into the world. Leaders are mentors, so invest today by developing others. Grow your coaching tree and leave a lasting legacy.
——
Mike Posey is an active-duty Naval Flight Officer in the E-2C Hawkeye and the F/A-18F Super Hornet. He is a father of two phenomenal children and the husband of a fantastic woman. He holds business degrees from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Florida and is pursuing a doctorate in education from Penn State University. He currently teaches at the U.S. Army War College.
The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.
Click here to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning!
We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step and showing interest.
The Maximum Standard 